Springfield business community input on tornado recovery sought

SPRINGFIELD – Rebuild Springfield wants to hear from local business leaders as it works out a plan to rebuild the city from the June tornadoes.

“So far we’ve heard primarily from residents,” said Nicholas Fyntrilakis, a vice president with MassMutual and co-chairman of the Rebuild Springfield effort.

The meeting will be 8 to 9 a.m. on Thursday at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission offices, 60 Congress St. in Springfield.

Develop Springfield, an economic development entity Fyntrilakis heads and the Springfield Redevelopment Authority are helping to come up with redevelopment plans for the city. The goal is to do a second round of meetings later this month, a third round in December and have a completed plan by Jan. 5.

The damage was devastating, Fyntrilakis said, and many businesses have not returned to the South End and the downtown commercial districts that were in the storms’ path.

“There are incentives that people want to see on the table before they commit to remain, return or grow,” Fyntrilakis said.

In a letter to Chamber members, Jeffrey S. Ciuffreda, president of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield asked people to think of plans that are financially feasible and can be implement realistically.

The group will also discuss the best use for land left vacant by the storm. For instance, the South End Community Center was created on Howard Street because there was an old armory there that could be pressed into service. If that property is vacant, there is a question of whether it is still the best place for a rebuilt community center.

“Or is that a better spot for commercial development,” Fyntrilakis said. “Should the community center go in a more residential area.”

The same goes for the old Zanetti School on Howard street which also might have to come down. Fyntrilakis said a site so close to Interstate 91 might prove attractive to a developer.